GreaterSample

HIGHEST GOAL

Jesus instructed us to love God with our hearts, minds, and souls, but how exactly do we do that? Doesn’t “love” just come from the heart, our center of emotion? It can be confusing to consider, but to love is simply to will another good. Acts of compassion, moments of wisdom, and diligent obedience can all be ways we can show our love to the One who made us. An example of how we can love God with our hearts is to just be kind. Jesus said that showing compassion “to the least of these” is the same as if you were doing a kind thing directly for Him. Every act that makes us more like Jesus is an act of love to God. To love God with your mind is to enjoy learning about Him and long to know all you can know about Him. Scripture is God’s Word to us, and the more we read, understand, and learn it, the more we can show Jesus to others by being prepared to give a reason for the hope we have in Him. To show our love to God with our souls, we can strive to be obedient to Him in every way. There is nothing as soul-filling as hearing the Holy Spirit instruct us to do (or not do) something, listening, obeying, and seeing the positive outcome of our deference to Him. And there’s nothing more pleasing to a parent, our Heavenly Father included, than a child that respects the authority of the one who loves them by doing as they instruct. Love is a multifaceted, beautiful, and complicated emotion that God created, but it all comes down to one simple command: love the LORD your God with all you’ve got.